. >>> now the efforts by the u.s. military against al qaeda are in their 12th year, we must also ask ourselves how will this conflict end? >> that's a very good question, and since that's the pentagon's top lawyer asking it, we'll ask our brain trust, is the war on terror winding down? first, though, the fiscal cliff looms ever nearer, the house speaker, among many others, sounding very pessimistic today. are we headed over the edge? and after the election in a bruising defeat, what's next for the republican party? we'll talk to one top outgoing gop senator. good sunday afternoon to you, you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. there are no signs right now of a break in the deadlocked talks to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, the devastating combinations of tax increase and spending cuts that kick in january 1st. both sides seem to dig in this morning on the sunday talk shows. >> the only thing standing in the way of that would be a refusal by republicans that the rates would have to go up on the wealthiest am